Door support means



Nov. 14, 1961 R. a. scHoNrrzER nooa SUPPORT MEANS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 16, 1957 x2-animal INVEN /Pz/mmw [5c Nov. 14, 1961 R. l. scHoNl'rzER 3,008,174

nooR SUPPORT MEANS Filed July 16, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. A700009# f. .Scwa/wrzf M1 l J Y* .f f

Nov. 14, 1961 R. l. scHoNl'rzER nooR SUPPORT MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 16, 1957 Q ur 6% IN VEN TOR. aoomf/ [6mm/725x? Afro/avrs United States Patent 3,038,174 Patented Nov. 14, 1961 Fic 3,608,174 DOR SUPPRT MEANS Rudolph I. Schonitzer, Shaker Heights, Ohio, assigner to Lisle W. Menzimer, Rocldord, Ill., trustee Filed July 16, 1957, Ser. No. 672,330 2 Claims. (Cl. 16-85) 'Ihis invention relates to door supports of the kind used between a vehicle door and its associated doorframe for preventing rattle and play therebetween when the door is in its closed position and, more particularly, the invention relates to a novel construction for such door supports.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel construction resulting in a simplified form of door support of a strong and durable character and which can be produced rapidly and economically and with a desired uniformity in the devices.

Another object is to provide a novel form of construction for door supports of the kind comprising a housing having mounting flanges and an open guideway with a wedge block movable in the latter, and in which the flanges and the wall portions of the guideway are formed by diierent portions of a one-piece housing blank.

A further object is to provide such a novel construction in which bendable tab projections on the intermediate portion of the housing blank form a holding means for certain of the walls of the guideway.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent in the following detailed description, and in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this speciiication and in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial vertical section taken through cooperating door and doorframe portions of a vehicle equipped with the door support means of the present invention, the cooperating portions being the lower edge of the door and the doorframe portion associated therewith when the door is in its closed position.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken through the door support means of FIG. 1, as indicated by section line 2-2 thereof.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of one of the door suppont members showing the same in detached relation.

FIG. 4 is -an elevation thereof when viewed endwise of the guideway.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of such door support member.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are sectional views showing substantially the same door support means as FIGS. 1 and 2, but differently located on the door and doorframe members, FIG. 6 being a horizontal section taken through the vertical free edge of the door and the doorframe portion associated therewith when the door is in its closed position, and FIG. 7 being a vertical section taken on section line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a strip of blanks for processing into the housing portion of one of the door support members.

FIG. 9 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through die apparatus being used in such processing of the strip of blanks.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a partially formed housing for a door support member.

FIG. 11 is an end view of such partially formed housing; and

FIG. 12 is a similar end view showing the completed housing.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings the door support means 10 of the present invention is shown applied to a pair of cooperating door and doorframe members 11 and 12 of an automobile or other vehicle. The door support means 10 comprises a pair of cooperating door support members 13 and 14 which are mounted respectively on the door and doorframe members 11 and 12, and, as mentioned above, serve effectively to prevent undesirable rattle or play between such door and doorframe members.

The door 11 can be of any conventional construction and is here shown as having a laterally extending lower edge or rail 15 which, in the closed position of the door is located above and in a substantially opposed relation to a laterally extending edge portion or rail 16 of the associated doorframe 12. The door 11 is here shown as also having a depending flange 18 which, in the closed position of the door, extends into an overlapping relation to a shoulder portion 19 provided on the doorframe 12. Additionally, the door 11 is here shown as carrying a yieldable packing strip 20 which is adapted to be pressed against the shoulder portion 19 of the doorframe by the depending flange 18. As shown in the drawings, the rail portions 15 and 16 of the door and doorframe members 11 and 12 have formed pan-like portions recessed thereinto to provide mounting portions 23 and 24 for the mounting of the door support members 13 and 14 thereon.

The door support member 13, which in this instance is carried by the door 11, comprises a sheet metal housing 25 containing a guideway 26 and a wedge block 27 connected with the housing and having its base portion directly received and slidable in such guideway. The door support member 13 is also provided with laterally oppositely extending mounting anges 29 located on opposite sides of the guideway 26 and adapted to be secured against the vmounting portion 23 as by suitable screws 30. The flanges 29 are carried directly by the free edges of the side walls 34 and 35 and lie in the plane of the opening or open side 0f the guideway 26.

To accommodate the door support member 13 to best advantage, the mounting portion 23 of the door 11 is provided with an opening 31 through which the portion of the housing 25 containing the guideway 26 extends, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The mounting portion 23 is preferably also provided with clinch nuts 32, which are located thereon on opposite sides of the opening 31 and receive the threaded stems of the connecting screws 30.

The guideway 26 of the door suppont member 13 is defined by a pair of parallel side walls 34 and 35 and a top wall 36 of the housing 25. The guideway 26 also has end walls 37 and 38 which extend in a substantially right-angularly deflected relation to the top wall 36 and are formed by sheet metal lugs constituting integral extensions of the latter.

The housing 25 is also provided with pairs of holding tabs 40 and 41 located at the ends of the guideway 216 and lying against the end walls 37 and 38 of the latter. The pairs of tabs 40 and 41 are formed by substantially right-angularly deflected integral portions of the side walls 34 and 35 and, in this instance, these tabs lie against the exterior face of such end walls. The holding tabs 40 and 41 are preferably secured to the end walls 37 and 38 as by weld junctions 43.

The door support member 13 `also comprises a rod 44 extending in and along the guideway 26 and on which the wedge block 27 is shiftably mounted. The rod 44 is mounted in the housing 25 by having its ends attached to the end walls 37 and 33t of the guideway, as by means of the headed or riveted portions 45 of the rod. The wedge block 27 is provided with an opening 47 through which the rod 44 extends, and is also provided with a counterbore 48. A compression spring 49 disposed around the rod 44 has one end thereof seated against the end wall 37 of the guideway and its other end seated against the wedge block and extending into the counterbore 48.

The wedge block 27 forms the thrust element of the 3 door support member 13 and projects from the guideway 26 for supporting engagement with the door support member 14, or directly with la portion of the rail 19 of the doorframe 12 in the event that the door support member 14 is omitted. The exposed or bottom surface 51 of theV wedge block 27 is preferably inclined longitudinally of the guideway 26 and in a direction such that the block will have a wedging cooperation with the door support member 14, or the doorfrarne as the case may be, when the door 11 is moved to its closed position. Under the iniluence of the spr-ing 49, the Wedge block 27 will be shiftable yalong the guideway 26 during the final closing movement of the door 11 and when the door is fully closed the wedge block will occupy a position, such as that shovm in FIG. l, in which i-t will be irmly engaged against the door support member 14 and will serve as a take-up member for taking up looseness or play and effectively preventing rattle or chatter between the door and doorframe member.

The door support member 14 is here shown as being a stamped sheet metal member having a relatively elevated intermediate thrust portion 52 and a pair of laterally oppositely extending mounting flanges 53 on opposite sides thereof. The anges 53 seat against the mounting portion 24 of, the `doorframe 12 and are secured thereto as by means of the connecting screws 55. The mounting portion 24 is preferably provided with clinch nuts'56 in which the threaded stems of the screws 55 engage. The exposed surface or top 57 of the thrust portion 52 faces toward the door support member 13 of the door 11 and is preferably inclined longitudinally of the guideway 26 and in a direction such that its slope will cooperate with the slope of the wedge block 27 during the nal closing movement of the door for taking up looseness between the door and doorframe members in the manner pointed out above.

ln accordance with the present invention, the housing 25 of the door support member 13 is a one-piece sheet metal member made from a sheet metal blank 60. In producing the housing 25 a row Vof the blanks 60 is pro` vided in a connected relation in the form of a strip 61,

as shown in FIG. 8, and the individual blanks of the strips,

are subjected in succession to novel forming operations which are canried out in suitable die mechanism such as the die mechanism 63 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 8.of the drawings represents the leading end of the strip 61 and shows three housing blanksr60a, 60b and 60C, on which progressive operations, have been carried out. The blank 60a represents an initial form of the housing blanks of the strip and shows the body por# tion 64 of the blank as being a flat portion extending longitudinally of the strip 61 and having its ends integrally connected with the ends of adjacentblanks by neck portions 65. The end portions of the body portion 64 of the blank 60a will ultimately form the mounting anges 29 of the housing 25 and are provided with punched openings `66 which accommodate the connecting screws 30.

The intermediate section of the body portion 64 of theV blank will ultimately form the walls of the guideway 26 and the areas which form such Walls can be identified in the blank 60C with relation to the bend lines 67 and 68 shown on this blank. The portion of the blank lying between Vthe bend lines 67 forms the top wall 36 of thek guideway 26 Aand the portions of the blank lying between the bend lines 67 and 68 form the side walls 34 and 35 of the guideway.

The intermediate portion of the blank 60a is provided with outwardly extending integral co-planar portions-in the form of the oppositely extending lugs YV37a and 38a, and the pairs of opposit'ely extending tabs'40aV and 41a. 'Ihe lugs 37a and 38cz'ultimately'form the end walls 37 and 38 of the guideway 26,' andthe pairs of tabs 40a and 41a ultimately form the pairs of holding tabs 40 and 41 described above.Y The lugs 37aand`38a have punched v d openings 70 therein for the mounting of the rod 44 in the end walls 37 and 3S of the guideway. The pairs of tabs a and 41a have partially sheared nib projections 71 thereon for use in forming the weld junctions 43.

The blank 6017 of the strip 61 is produced from the blank 60a by a forming operation carried out on the latter, by which the tabs 40a and 41a have been deflected to a substantially right-angle position relative to the plane of the blank. The bending of the -tabs 49a and 41a to this right-angle position is accomplished by bends formed therein on bend lines 72, which lie outwardly of the parallel side edges 73 and 74 of the blank 60h.

The blank 60C of the strip '61 represents the shape of the housing blank after 4a further forming operation has been carried out on the blank 60b. By this further forming operation, the lugs 37a and 38a are deected to a substantially right-angle position relative to the plane of the blank and, as represented in the blank 60C of FIG. 8, the bending of the lugs 37a and 38a to this right-angle position is accomplished bythe bending thereof on bend lines 75 which are substantially coincident with the parallel side edges 73 and 74 of the blanks 60b and 60C.

When the housing blank has assumed the condition of the blank 60C, it is ready for the shaping thereof into the housing 25 and, during this shaping operation, a plurality of transverse bends are formed in the blank on the parallel bend lines 67 and 68. The formation of this group of bends in the blank 60C results in the parti-ally formed housing 25a of FIGS. l0 and 1l, in which the gnideway 26 has now 'been deiined by the side walls 34 and 35, the end walls 37 and 38, and the top wall 36. The partially formed housing 25a now also includes the oppositely extending flanges 29. By the shaping of the blank 60e into the partially formed housing 25a, the bending operations performed on the bend lines 67 and 68 cause the previously deflected tabs 40a and 41a to assume the position of the tabs 40 and 41 of FIGS. 10 and Y l1, in which these tabs have moved into an overlying relation to the end walls 37 and 38 of the guideway with the tabs of each pair extending toward each other from opposite sides of the guideway.

FIG. 12 of the drawings shows the completed housing 25 which has .resulted from a further shaping of the partially formed housing 25a. During this further shaping, the anges 29 have been made to assume a substantially true right angle posi-tion relative to the side walls 34 and 35. The holding tabs 40 and 41 are now ready to be pressed iirmly against the end walls 37 and 38 and this can be accomplished either during the further forming operation just above described for completing the housing 2S or can be accomplished dur-ing the forming of the weld junctions 43. The completed housing 25 is then ready for the mounting of the rod 44 therein with theV guideblock 27 and the spring 49 assembled on the latter, and yis also ready for the mounting of clinch nuts on the flanges 29, if such clinch nuts are to be provided thereon in the relation shown in FIGS. 6 'and 7.

The die mechanism 63 of FIG. 9 is here shown as comprising a stationary lower base plate 77 having a platen 78 thereon and a pair of die punches 79 and 80 which are movable toward and away from the platen. The die mechanism 63 is also provided with a holding or stripper plate 81 which overlies the platen 78 such that the adjacent working faces 82 and 83 ofthe platen and stripper plate will apply clamping pressure to the strip 61' when the die mechanism is actuated lto its closed condition shown in FIG. 9. The upper working surface 82 of the platen 78 is formed, in part, by the top wall of a guide rib 85 carried by the platen and along which the strip 61 is slidably movable with the lugsy and tabs of the strip projecting laterally'beyond the edges of such guide rib.

FIG. 9 of the drawings shows the housing blank 60b on the guide rib 85 and being pressed against the top surface 82 thereof by the working face 83 of the stripper plate 81. FIG. 9 also shows the die punch 79 in the act of bending the lugs 37a and 38a to their deflected position of the blank 60C of FIG. 8. For accomplishing this operation, the die punch 79 is provided with a forked portion 86 having a pair of downwardly extending arms 87 which move through suitable openings in the stripper plate 81 so as to engage and deect the lugs 37a and 38a downwardly alongside the side faces of the guide rib 85.

As shown in FIG. 9, the punch 80 is movable through openings 89 and 90 of the stripper plate 81 and the platen 78 and cooperates with the platen for shearing the blanks 60C from strip 61. During such shearing of this blank from the strip 61, the cutting action takes place along the transverse she-ar lines 92 and 93 o-f FIG. 8. The shearing of the strip on the line 92 severs the blank 60e from the strip 61, and the shearing of the strip along the line 93 cuts the scrap piece of metal 94 away from the leading end of this blank.

As is further shown in FIG. 9, the die mechanism 63 includes a stationary lower die member or stake 95 having a base portion mounted in a recess 96 of the base plate 77 and a ilat stem 97 extending upwardly through a passage 98 of a die pressure plate 99. The stem 97 `is of a cross-sectional shape corresponding substantially with the quadrangular plan shape of the guideway 26 of the housing 25, and forms a stationary die portion or mandrel against which the blank 60C is moved and shaped by the die punch S0.

For the shaping cooperation of the punch 80 with the stem 97, the lower end of the punch is provided with a die recess 101 of a size and shape to telescope over the upper end of the stem and such as to correspond in size and shape with the size and shape of the exterior of the portion of the partially formed blank 25a which contains the guideway 26. The lower end of the punch 80 is provided with iiat arcas 102 on opposite sides of the recess 101 and which cooperate with the flat upper working faces 103 of the pressure plate 99 for clamping the anges 29 of the housing blank against the latter.

The pressure plate 99 is shiftable in the opening 90 of the platen 78 and is downwardly movable in this opening by the downward working stroke of the punch 80 in opposition to a group of compression springs 104. The springs 104 lift the pressure plate 99 and return the same to a position substantially ush with the surface 82 during the upward opening stroke of the punch 80. Another such group of springs 105 bears against the upper side of the stripper plate 81 and causes the latter to perform a desired holding and stripping action on the Work strip 61 during the opening movement of the punches 79 and 80.

The punch 80 is preferably also provided with a knockout plunger or pin 106 which is downwardly movable in the punch under the action of the spring 107 for ejecting the housing blank 25a for the recess 101 of the punch during the upward opening movement of the latter. The housing blank 25a, as a result of shaping operation performed thereon by the punch 80 in cooperation with the pressure plate 99 and the mandrel 97, is of the form described above and ready for a subsequent nal shaping into the completed housing blank 25.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show similar door support members 13a and 14a in a somewhat different cooperative relation wherein the support member 13a is mounted on the vertical edge portion or rail 108 of a door frame member 109, and the door support member 14a is mounted on the ver-tical free edge or rail 110 of a swinga-ble vehicle door 111. The cooperation of the door support members 13a and 14a is substantially the same as that described above in connection with FIGS. 1 yand 2 and accomplishes the same advantageous result, with the exception that the support member 13a is now the stationary member and the support member 14a is the movable member and is movable into cooperating relation with the sta- 6 tionary member during the nal closing movement of the door 111.

The door support members 13a `and 14a are the same as the support members 13 and 14 with the exception that the mounting flanges 29 of the member 13a carry clinch nuts 112.

From the accompanying drawings and the foregoing detailed dcription it will now be readily understood that this invention provides a novel door support means for use between cooperating door and doorframe members for preventing rattle or play therebetween, such door support means having a wedge block movable in a guideway thereof. By the novel construction provided by this invention, a door support member of the guideway type is made lavailable in a form which can be rapidly and economically produced and which will be of a rugged and durable character capable of being readily mounted on the vehicle structure and also capable of rendering trouble-free service throughout a pronlonged period.

Although the novel door support means has been illustrated `and described herein to a somewhat detailed extent, it will be understood, of course, that the present invention is not to be regarded as limited correspondingly in scope, but includes all changes and modifications coming within the terms of the claims hereof.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. In door support means of the type having a guideway therein which includes an outwardly facing guideway opening for accommodating a movable wedge block; a housing having parallel wall portions forming the sides of said guideway, and a connecting portion extending between and connecting said parallel wall portions and forming the bottom wall of said guideway; end walls at the ends of said guideway and formed by end extensions on said bottom wall and disposed in a substantial degree relation to the latter; a pair of holding tabs at each end of said guideway and comprising end extensions on said parallel wall portions and disposed in a substantially 90-degree relation to the latter; the tabs of each such pair extending toward each other and lying against the outside face of one of said end walls and each pair of tabs being welded to the associated end wall; mounting flanges on said parallel wall portions and projecting laterally therefrom on opposite sides of said guideway; said housing including said parallel wall portions, said connecting portion, said end walls, said pairs of tabs and said flanges being a one-piece sheet metal member; and a wedge block having a base portion directly received and slidably retained in said guideway and `a thrust portion projecting from the guideway through said guideway opening.

2. Door support means for use between an edge rail of a door and an associated doorframe portion, comprising a sheet metal housing having a guideway therein which includes a guideway opening facing outwardly of the housing on one side of the latter, a wedge block movable in said guideway and projecting therefrom through said opening, said housing having parallel wall porti-ons forming two sides of said guideway and a connecting wall portion connecting said parallel wall portions and forming a third side of said guideway, lug extensions on said connecting wall portion and occupying a bent position in a substantially 90-degree relation thereto and forming end walls at the ends of said guideway, holding tab extensions on said parallel wall port-ions and occupying a bent position in a substantially 90degree relation thereto and lying against the outer faces of said end walls, said housing including said parallel wall portions, said connecting wall portion, said lug extensions and holding 4tabs comprising a one-piece sheet metal member, said wedge block having a base portion provided with an opening and said base portion being directly received and slidable in said guideway, and a retainer rod connected with said housing and extending References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Wells June 24, 1930 S Menel Mar. 6, 1934, Schontzer Dec. 17, 1935 Schonitzer Dec. 17, 1935 Geyer Mar. 23, 1937 Eisenhauer Dec. 2, 1941 

